A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
A couple of months ago I stumbled upon this book by way of Amazon’s suggested products. I figured it looked interesting enough. And I’m not an economics buff, but Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubman changed my mind about that.
With parts named What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?, How is the Ku Klux Kan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?, and Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?, how can anyone go wrong in wanting to read this book?
Levitt has came under a lot of heat in recent years with his rebellious take on why crime suddenly took a dive in the ’90s, a time when it was predicted to increase to an all-time high. His answer: Abortion. He argues that the 1973 case of Roe vs. Wade, which made abortion legal in the U.S., sent crime skydiving in the ’90s because the people most likely to be criminals weren’t being born. And he has some compelling data to back it up.
Interested now?
What really gets the economist and journalist (Dubner) rolling is the idea of incentives. The reason people take action or become inactive is because of the incentives. Would a schoolteacher cheat for students taking the SATs? Would a sumo wrestler (probably the most prestigious sport in Japan, I read) let someone else beat him in a match? It all comes down to incentives.
The authors offer an entertaining read, and a side of economics that isn’t typically seen. Levitt claims to be the worst economist because he’s bad at math. So, he must take a look at the things most economists never bother with.
Even if you’re not interested in economics, this book will allow you to think outside the box about the way the world works. Plus, the name of the book is cool.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Wow, that theory about abortion is very intriguing. I’ll have to see if the book is at the library.
January 27th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Hey, brother. I missed that I didn’t get to talk long today. I was going to call tonight, but I got to working out and the time just flew. Miss you!!! by the way, I’m not finished with the book yet but it is super great! love you
January 27th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Michele sent me over, Justin.
I read and reviewed this book a while back, Justin. I really like the arguments in it but still was a little pissed off by the business side. The economics of it, if you will. The book is regularly priced but was essentially just a padded version of the article that appeared in New York Times Magazine. As a result, I felt ripped off after reading it. But I admit the writing and examples in the book are quite interesting.
January 27th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
This is quite a site you have here. I’m very impressed. It’s funny, I hooked up to the Stanford VAX while in high school (with a telephone coupler) and to the SDSU VAX with my very first computer, a Commodore 64 and a 1200 baud VicModem. I have taken Pascal, Fortran, assembly and, of course, basic coded on punch cards. I even did the course work to take the MCSE tests under NT 4.0. I could put together a network! Yet, somehow throughout all that, I missed catching and riding the HTML and web design wave, Funny, huh?
It’s ok. Turns out I can write too!
Thanks for visiting my humble blog,
Mike
January 28th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Well that made me want to read more….I will certainly keep my eyes open for that book in future, very interesting indeed..thanks
Here via michels
January 28th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
This is a great book. I haven’t read it cover to cover but I skimmed through a lot of it. It has some really interesting theories. Great read.
January 28th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I also found the book to be very eye opening. I’m generally a fiction reader, and generally *not* interested in economics–so for me to like it was a big deal.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:22 am
I really enjoyed the book. However, I’m getting to a point where I want to switch back over to fiction. I’ve got to finish Citizen Cyborg before I make the switch.